[Significant factors affecting the operation time for benign parotid tumor].

Tumors of the parotid gland are fairly frequent among head and neck tumors. Parotidectomy for benign tumors is necessary for diagnosis and therapy. Furthermore, acquiring the skill for this operation is a significant step in the training course of an otolaryngologist Thus, it is useful to analyze the operation time and determine the factors affecting it to evaluate the progress in the operation skill.

[Fluticasone propionate aqueous nasal spray for the treatment of chronic sinusitis with eosinophil].

Chronic sinusitis with eosinophils easily recurs after endoscopic sinus surgery. The condition is usually complicated by asthma, and many eosinophils are present in the sinus mucosa. One conservative treatment method is the administration of glucocorticoids locally or systematically.

Evaluation of recurrent nerve paralysis due to thoracic aortic aneurysm and aneurysm repair.

Objectives: We sought to clarify the relationship between the outcome of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis with the characteristics of the thoracic aortic aneurysm and the surgical procedure used in each patient.

Methods: Nine patients who developed recurrent nerve paralysis (nonsurgical paralysis) due to a thoracic aortic aneurysm alone and 14 patients who underwent artificial vessel replacement for thoracic aortic aneurysm and developed recurrent nerve paralysis postoperatively (surgical paralysis) were evaluated.

Results: In the patients with nonsurgical paralysis, the aneurysms were similar in size to those of other patients who underwent surgery of the thoracic aorta and were invariably located near the aortic arch.

[A case of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor requiring thoracotomy].

A 32-year-old woman with Von Recklinghausen's disease had a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor that had progressed to malignancy from a neurofibroma arising in the left phrenic nerve. The tumor was removed combining a neck incision and thoracotomy. It should be more widely recognized that neurofibroma associated with Von Recklinghausen's disease may progress to malignancy.

[Localization of senescence marker protein-30 (SMP30) in the mouse submandibular gland and histological findings in the SMP30 knock-out mouse].

Senescence marker protein-30 (SMP30), which has a molecular mass of 30 kDa, is strongly expressed during maturation and decreases with aging in the liver and kidney. SMP30 is suspected of being closely related to cell functions, especially intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, in differentiated tissues of the liver and kidney. We produced an antibody against SMP30 to study the localization of SMP30 in the submandibular gland of normal mice using an enzyme-labeled antibody.